Even when the blog was dormant there was still a hell of a lot of people coming in. That's what happens when you write about stuff people are interested in, like Playboy Playmate and Denison native Emily "Jordan Monroe" Ranheim, dead porn stars like Fort Madison-raised Anna Malle, or how ousted Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Baker was soft on drunk drivers who kill when he was a District Court judge.
Not only do normal people read the State 29 blog, but so does former Des Moines Register columnist and self-described gambling addict Ken Fuson.
I have no idea why Ken Fuson would be reading a blog, much less the State 29 blog.
According to Fuson back in 2004 when he was employed:
...bloggers are humorless, thin-skinned and have a grandiose sense of their own importance...And the term blog:
...derives from a combination of "blather" and "logorrhea."It sounds like blogs would be something that Ken Fuson wouldn't want to read. Don't you think?
A blog would be the kind of thing that Ken Fuson would stay away from, kind of like what he tried to do with gambling casinos.
Like gambling casinos, Ken Fuson can not stay away from blogs. At least with regard to the post Speaking Of Ex-Columnists Who Are Humorless, Thin-Skinned, and Have A Grandiose Sense Of Self-Importance, Ken Fuson appears to have written the following comment:
Ken said...
You should read it again. I didn't, and don't, blame anybody for my problem. In fact, I stated something to the effect that closing the casinos in Iowa wouldn't help someone as committed to gamble as I was.
And I'll plead guilty to whatever name you want to call me, except one: I'm not a gutless fucking coward. I don't take anonymous potshots at people from the safety of an Internet blog.
Print that, hero.
Cheers, Ken Fuson
I thought it was clear that Ken Fuson was blaming Iowa's casinos for causing him to drive to Minneapolis and Kansas City and gamble, or something like that. Hell, I bolded the phase that was the most obvious of the blame game. Go look at the post again. See? ¿Comprende?
It would be one thing if Fuson had written that he had a gambling problem and he's trying to stay straight and he tells his story of struggle. That I can respect. I wouldn't make fun of that.
What I don't like is Fuson writing about banning himself from Iowa casinos, then sneaking off to Minneapolis and Kansas City, and then finding gambling on the internet, and blaming Iowa's casinos a couple of paragraphs later.
What do they call that in J-school? Narrative journalism? The narrative? Ken Fuson, your narrative is all screwed up!
If Ken Fuson hadn't had so many illogical holes in his narrative, I would have gladly championed his complaints about gambling in Iowa. This blog has bitched for years about how it's the goal of many Iowa politicians to have 99 casinos in 99 counties. I'm sorry, I meant 100 casinos in 99 counties.
And don't get this blog started about the Touchplay fiasco.
I just don't like it when addicts, be they alcoholics, drug addicts, or gambling addicts, come out with some obvious bullshit story about how it's also somebody else's fault
Ken Fuson may be publicly admitting he's a gambling addict, and hopefully he has everything under control. I don't wish him any ill will or harm. I just don't think he's sincere about where the blame rests.
He wants to blame the casinos. All right then.
The casinos are just following the laws of this state.
Who sets the gambling rules in this state? The politicians.
Where is Ken Fuson with the column complaining about the politicians? Where is his complaint about the politicians who appoint the members of the Iowa Racing And Gaming Commission?
How come Ken Fuson isn't bitching about Terry Branstad or Tom Vilsack or Chet Culver or anybody sitting under the gold dome?
Could it be that Fuson knows too many people from his DMR days? Don't want to step on too many feet, right? Can't complain about the Democrats in charge who have mostly set the rules as of late because we all know any Democrat criticism at the DMR is heresy.
See, that's the trouble with working for, or having worked for, the dying, left-wing biased, corporate monopoly newspaper in central Iowa. Ken Fuson can't write that column or guest opinion piece about who is responsible for the screwed up mess that is the overabundance of gambling in Iowa and all the pain and misery and despair it causes. He can't write that because he knows too many Important people. He's a face. He was a tool for too long.
But this blog can write about such things.
This blog is written by a gutless fucking coward who takes anonymous potshots at people from the safety of an Internet blog. And proud of it.
It's not beholden to mother company Gannett or Bill Krause or some giant company from out of state running a casino who wants to advertise.
You can bet on that.
Reveal yourself, pussy
ReplyDeleteFAIL !!!! anonymous wants you to reveal yourself !!! epic, just epic.
ReplyDelete2.Regarding what I wrote about my gambling addiction. There's so much blatantly wrong here it's hard to know where to start. How in the world could anyone read what I wrote and think I blamed casinos for anything? Was it the line where I wrote, “No casino is responsible for my gambling problem?” Was it the line where I wrote, “I take full responsibility for my actions?” I VOLUNTARILY banned myself from Iowa casinos. How could I then blame them for my driving to Minneapolis or Kansas City? Nowhere in the article do I say letting addicts ban themselves is a bad idea. In fact, I wrote just the opposite, that it would be a bad idea to let them remove the ban. You're a coward, but you're not this dense. I don't blame the casinos for anything. I only point out that there are things they could do if they are truly interested in helping problem gamblers and encouraging what they call “responsible gaming.” At no point – none – in my article do I say my addiction is someone else's fault.
ReplyDelete3.You asked where my column was complaining about the politicians. Actually, during the Touch Play controversy, I wrote a column suggesting that Iowa would have portable meth machines in convenience stores in the future. But the reason I didn't bitch about the politicians is because I wasn't looking to cast blame. (See Point No. 2.) They're not responsible for my problem, either. My goal was to remind people there's a downside to all this gambling, point out some voluntary actions the casinos could take to help and to tell other addicts they weren't alone.
ReplyDelete4.Your transition into making this an anti-Register screed is predictable, but ludicrous. Yeah, I wrote that column to protect important people. And the Register ran it to protect important people. Your obsession is showing. I'd recommend a 12-step group, but you'd have to show your face.
ReplyDelete5.And, finally, I actually laughed out loud at your claim not to be anyone's tool. See, that's the whole thing with being a gutless fucking coward – I mean, a proud gutless fucking coward. There's no way to determine who you're a tool for. Did the Register turn you down for a job? Are you on the Republican payroll? Were you beaten up in high school? The fact is, you might be working for Gannett or Bill Krause at this very moment. There's no way to know, no way to tell. I can think of only two reasons why someone wouldn't attach his or her name to an opinion – fear or embarrassment. Which one is it, Braveheart?
ReplyDeleteHey, I've produced a little logorrhea my ownself. Until you remove the mask, this will be my final response. You can't fight with a ghost, and you really can't debate a gutless fucking coward. But I will give you this: At least you accept that a gutless fucking coward is exactly what you are. That's always the first step.
Cheers, Ken Fuson
Well, shoot, I think this is out of order. Here's the introduction. I'm posting in stages because it's apparently too long to post all at once.
ReplyDeleteLet's review:
1.To be honest, until somebody said, “Did you see what some asshole blogger wrote about you?” I thought you had shut it down. But let me give you Round One. My column on blogs and bloggers did not turn out to be, shall we say, prescient. It was a humor column. I was trying to be funny. I was wrong about blogs. It happens. But I do find it humorous that you continue to quote me as writing about bloggers being “humorless, thin-skinned and have a grandiose sense of their own importance.” You never add the next line: “Yep, they're journalists.” I was making fun of the people in MY profession, Scooter. But you knew that. On the other hand, my line about anonymous bloggers having the class and courage of bathroom graffiti artists remains absolutely dead-on.
Hey, I just got an e-mail from someone who said you used to work, and possibly still work, for the Associated Press. Is that true?
ReplyDeleteCome on, Masked Man, out with it. You can't hide this stuff forever.
Hey Ken, I read what he AND you wrote and it read to me like you blamed, in part, the casinos. I quote, "Well, if I need to accept responsibility, they need to as well."
ReplyDeleteI asked several rational, non gambling addicts to read that and they all said you were, in part, blaming the casinos. You can get mad about the anonymous part but nobody put those words in your mouth. As they say, man up Ken. You peckerwood.
Bill Maron
Hello "Bill." You seem to have some difficulty understanding how it's possible to accept full personal responsibility while still requesting responsible behavior from the casinos. I'd be glad to explain this to you. Why don't you e-mail me at kfuson23@gmail.com? That way I can tell you're an actual person and not just some name The Coward came up with.
ReplyDelete@jeremy: I was being ironical, smart guy.
ReplyDeleteKen- 1 million. State 29- 0. Btw, I've also heard State29 was/is a journalist. It's been a while, but I heard he once worked at the Iowa City Press-Citizen as a copy editor.
ReplyDelete"Hello "Bill." You seem to have some difficulty understanding how it's possible to accept full personal responsibility while still requesting responsible behavior from the casinos."
ReplyDeleteWell "Ken" if that was what you had written, I would have had no problem understanding it. But I wouldn't want you to doubt my existence. Check your email.
Bill Maron